Monthly Archives: January 2017

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) published draft guidance discussing methods for conducting Alternative Analyses (AA) under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) regulation on December 12th, 2016. Public comments are due by February 3rd, 2017. The DTSC is particularly interested in comments regarding the clarity and usefulness of the Draft Guide. Significantly, DTSC cannot finalize its initial Priority Products list until it “make[s] available on its website guidance materials to assist persons in performing AAs” (Title 22, California Code of Regulations, Section 69505.) Thus, finalizing this AA guidance is essential for DTSC to move forward with its first…

On January 12, 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment published a notice of revisions to the new Proposition 65 safe harbor warning regulations. These revisions, which OEHHA characterizes as “non-substantive,” consist largely of corrections to grammar and punctuation. However, one may have a broader, more substantive effect. In the text of each of the new safe harbor warnings, OEHHA has included a colon after the word “WARNING.” A useful clarification, the colon now appears in the portion of the regulations requiring the word “WARNING” – and now the colon itself – to be in bold font. Thus,…

New California air regulatory requirements affecting adhesives, degreasers and coatings took effect on January 1st, 2017. The new requirements, promulgated by the California Air Resources Board (ARB), are contained in Sections 94507-94517 and Sections 94520-94528 of Title 17, California Code of Regulations. These changes consist of volatile organic compound (VOC) standards, the prohibition of chemical compounds with a Global Warming Potential Value (GWP) of 150 or greater, the prohibition of specific toxic compounds, and reactivity limits for certain aerosol coating products. These regulations apply to any person who sells, supplies, or manufactures the affected products for use within the state…

On January 13, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed rule to “reset” the TSCA Inventory, as required by the recent Lautenberg amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act. Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by March 14, 2017. EPA is proposing the rule under TSCA Section 8(b), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act passed on June 22, 2016, which amended and modernized TSCA. The amended Section 8(b) requires EPA to designate chemicals on the TSCA Inventory as “active” or “inactive” chemicals. The “active” and “inactive” designations will allow…

On January 6, 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment notified the public that its Proposition 65 bisphenol (BPA) database is now accessible. This follows the agency’s recent adoption of revisions to the BPA safe harbor warning regulation, effective January 1, 2017, which now require manufacturers to notify OEHHA if their food and/or beverage cans and bottles contain BPA. Background BPA was listed in May 2015 as a female reproductive toxicant under Proposition 65. BPA is used in many applications, including in the liners of cans and bottles of foods and beverages to keep those products fresh and to…